Edgar j



(No Model.)

B. J. GROSS. HINGE MECHANISM FOR DO0R$ OP SAFES 0R VAULTS.

Patented Mar. 11, 1890.

N. PETERS, PhatvLilhngrapher, WMNHQOI. D. (I,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDGAR J. GROSS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHICAGO SAFE AND LOCK COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

HINGE MECHANISM FOR DOORS OF SAFES OR VAULTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,149, dated March 11, 1890.

Application filed October 13, 1888- Serial No. 288,038- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDGAR J. GROSS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hinge Mechanism for the Doors of Safes or Vaults, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyro drawings, forming part of this specificaion.

My present invention has relation to that class of hinge mechanism designed for use upon safes or vaults, the door frames or j ambs and doors of which are stepped or inclined, and provided with grooves and ribs adapted to interlock when the door is in closed position. As it is customary to form the ribs and grooves that extend from the stepped edges of the door and its jamb at right angles to the plane of the door, it is very desirable that the hinge mechanism employed should be of such character as to impart to the door in the act of opening it an initial straight outward 2 5 movement, in order that the ribs and grooves may be disengaged before the swinging movement of the door begins. Various forms of hinges have been heretofore devised to accomplish this straight-line movement of the door,

0 an example of this type of hinge mechanism being illustrated in Letters Patent No. 37 0,47 2, granted to the Chicago Safe and Look Compaiy as assignee of H. Gross, September 27, 1'8 7..

3 5 The primary object of my present invention is to provide an improved hinge mechanism that shall be very simple and cheapin construction, and shall enable the door to be firmly and securely hung, while at the same 4 time permitting it to be readily opened and closed with the desired straight-line move ment at the proper times for causing the ribs and grooves of the door and jamb to engage and disengage each other.

To this end my invention consists in the novel features of construction, hereinafter described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a face view of the door-jamb and door embodying my improvements, parts being broken away for the purpose of better illustration. Fig. 2 is a view in transverse section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a view similar to Fig.2, but showing the parts in the 5 5 position assumed at the end of the initial outward movement of the door. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view in central vertical section. Fig. .5 is an enlarged detail View of the hinge mechanism, the shifting-rod and the door-section of the hinge being shown in crosssection and the remaining parts being shown in plan.

A designates the body of the safe or vault wall adjacent the door, and B denotes the door. The door-jamb of the safe or vault is of the well-known stepped or inclined form, and is provided with a channel a, adapted to receive a felt packing a, and with an outwardly-=proj ecting rib a extending entirely around the jamb of the door. The corresponding inclined or stepped edge of the door B is in like manner provided with one or more channels 1), adapted to receive a felt packing b and to admit the rib a of the door-jamb, and with a rib 6 adapted to enter the corresponding channel a, of the jamb, it being understood, of course, that any desired number of interlocking ribs and grooves, may be employed. To the door-frame A adjacent the rear edge of the door is fixed the pintle-plates D and D of thehinge, two of such pintleplates being shown in the drawings, and upon the pintles (l of these plates D and D are hung the movable sections E and E of the hinge mechanism, the opposite ends of these movable sections E and E being hung upon suitable pintles f, that pass through appropriate openings in the door-sections F F of the hinge mechanism. Each of these door- 0 sections F F is provided, by preference, with the projecting plates or flanges f and f through which pass the pintles f, and in the inner flanges or plates f are formed suitable perforations to receive the ends of the shifting-rod G. Each end of this shifting-rod G is provided with a pin g, preferably formed in piece with the rod and having an eccentric position on its end, and the pin 9 at each end. of the rod enters a slot e, that is formed Ice a partial revolution, the eccentric-pins 9 upon the end of this rod as the rod is turned bear upon the movable sections of each hinge, and since the outer ends of these movable sections are held upon the fixed pintles d, the turning of the shifting-rod G will tend to move outward the opposite ends of the movable sections and carry with them the rear edge of the door until the parts assume the position shown in Fig. 3, after which the door can be swung open, turning upon the pintles d after the manner of an ordinary hinge. It will be understood, of course, that when the door has been closed to the position shown in Fig. 3, and it is desired to completely close it, it will only be necessary to turn the shifting-rod G in a direction opposite to that last described, thereby causing the ends of the shifting-rod, by reason of their engagement with the movable sections E and E and doorsections F and F, to force inward the rear edge of the door to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2; hence it will be seen that a straightline movement of the door can be attained in order to cause the interlocking of the ribs and grooves upon the stepped edges of the door and j amb.

One great advantage incident to my improved construction of hinge mechanism is that inasmuch as the movable sections E and E are held within the flanges f and f of the door-sections, they will be sustained by these flanges, and will thus be enabled to more effectively bear the weight of the door. Moreover,-by thus forming the door-section F of the hinge with flanges f and f between which the movable sections E and E are held, the slotor opening formed in the movable section is hidden or protected, and so, also, the upper end of the pintle d is in like manner covered, and its bearing is protected from all access of dust and dirt thereto.

In order to effect the movement of the shifting-rod G, I prefer to provide this rod with a rocking arm H, to the forked end of which is pivotally joined, as at h, the connecting-bar I, the opposite end of this bar being in like manner joined to the forked end of a yoke it, that is fixed on the presserbar K; hence it will be seen that when movement is imparted to the presser-bar K, and f for this purpose an operating-handle K, affixcd thereon will be employed, the shiftingrod G will be caused to turn and impart the s'trai'ghtline movement to the door in the manner above defined. The presser-bar K has its ends journaled within suitable plates L, adjacent the edges of the door, and upon each end of this presser-bar K is a pin k, having a position eccentric with respect to the bar. These pins k are preferably formed by turning down theends of the bar to the desired extent. Upon the door-jamb and at points opposite the journal-plates L, when the door is in closed position, are fixed the camplates M, the inner face of each of these cam= adapted to receive the pin is of the presserbar, and by reference to the drawing, it will 1 be seen that when the door has been swung to the closed position the pins of the presser-bar will enter the slots m of the camplates, and as the handle K is turned to im- ;part the movement to the presser-bar and shifting-rod necessary to eifect the straightline movement of the door, the pins k of the presser-bar will ride against the outward wall of the groove on of the cam-plate, and will force the outer portion of the safe-door to move inward in straight line at the same time that the inner edge of the door is in like manner moved straight inward by the action of ;the shiftingrod upon the sections of the ,hinges. the operating-handle K is turned backward to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5 3 the pins 70 of thepressei bar will be caused ito ride against the inner wall of each groove Em and then pass from out these grooves of "the cam-plates M at the same time that the pins g of the shifting-rod are effecting the istraight outward movement of the rear edge g of the door; hence it is plain that as the shifting-rod G is effecting the straight-line Z movement of the rear edge of the door a coriresponding straight-line movement is given to the front portion of the door by the enpresser=bar K with the cam=plates L, and Ehence the entire body of the door will be icaused to move in unison.

Modifications in the precise details of con istruction above set out may suggest the1n iselves to the skilled mechanic, and to such iprecise details, therefore, I do not wish my iinvention to be understood as restricted.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A hinge mechanism for the doors of safes and vaults, comprising fixed sections for attachment to the door and jamb, respectively, intermediate sections pivoted to said fixed sections, and a shifting-rod engaging with said fixed and intermediate sections'to' effect their relative movement, substantially as described. j 2. A hinge mechanism for the doors of safes and vaults, comprising fixed sections for attachment to the door and jamb, respectively,- intermediate sections pivoted to said fixed sec- ;tions, and a shifting-rod, said shifting-rod bei in g j ournaled in one set of said fixed sections,

and being provided at its ends with eccentric- So, also, it will be seen that when gagement of the eccentric-pins 7a of the Having thus described my invention, what plates being providedwith a groove m,

pins, and said intermediate sections having long slots therein to receive the eccentric-pins of the shifting-rod, substantially as described.

3. A hinge mechanism for the doors of safes or vaults, comprising fixed sections for attachment to the door and jamb, respectively, intermediate sections pivoted to said fixed sections, and a shifting-rod journaled in one set of said fixed sections and provided with eccentric-pins at its ends, said intermediate sec tions being provided with long open slots between the pivotal points of said sections to receive the eccentric-pins of the shifting-rod, substantially as described.

4. Ahinge mechanism for the doors of safes and vaults, comprising fixed sections for attachment to the door and jamb, respectively, one set of said fixed sections being provided with flanges and movable sections pivoted to said fixed sections and held between said flanges, substantially as described.

5. A hinge mechanism for the doors of safes and vaults, comprising fixed sections for attachment to the door and jamb, respectively, one set of said fixed sections being provided with flanges, movable sections pivoted to said fixed sections and held between said flanges, and a shifting-rod passing through one set of flanges and engaging with the movable sections, substantially as described.

6. A hinge mechanism for the doors of safes and vaults, comprising fixed sections D and F for attachment to the door and jamb, respectively, the sections F being. provided with flanges f and f and the intermediate sections E, located between the flanges of the sections F and pivoted to the sections D and F, and a shifting-rod G, the flanges f. of the sections F being provided with bearings for the shifting-rod, and the intermediate sections E being provided with slots to receive the ends of the said shifting-rods, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the jamb and door of a safe or vault, of the hinge mechanism comprising the fixed sections for attachment to the door and j amb, respectively, movable sections pivoted to said fixed sections, and a shifting rod engaging with said fixed and movable sections, a rocking arm upon said shifting-rod, a connecting-bar pivoted to said rocking arm, a presser-bar, suitable bearing-plates for said presser-bar, and cam-plates fixed upon the j amb for engagement with the eccentric-pins of the presser-bar, and an operating-handle, substantially as described.

EDGAR J. GROSS.

Vitnesses:

GEO. P. FISHER, B. FRANK TEAL. 

